John Piotti at Camden Conference Discussion Series

Linking farming and environment: Common experiences in Europe and Maine

Saturday, October 12 at 2:00 pm, St. Thomas Church, Camden

The European Initiative for Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Maine Farmland Trust will compare their experiences to make farming and the environment mutually beneficial. Both are committed to sustainable agriculture based on improving soil, providing markets with food grown with environmental care and farming practice to reducing global warming and loss of biodiversity. And both are committed to improving farm policies in Europe and Maine.

Patrick Wrixon is President of the European Initiative on Sustainable Development in Agriculture. He runs a mixed sheep and arable farm in Hereford in the United Kingdom. As a graduate in agriculture from Nottingham University he is committed to the holistic approach of Integrated Farming, He invests considerable time and energy to on his 500 acre farm to enhancing wildlife, improving efficiency and increasing the production and use of renewable resources. He also serves on the Board of Directors of LEAF UK a very proactive organization working with farmers to produce food an environmentally and socially responsible way.

John Piotti is Executive Director of Maine Farmland Trust, which has supported over 475 Maine farmers and helped protect over 38,000 acres of Maine’s best farmland. Prior to taking the helm at MFT in 2006, John for eleven years managed all the farm programs for Coastal Enterprises, Inc (CEI). He has served as chair of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and a director of the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture. From 2002 to 2010, John also served in Maine’s Legislature, where he chaired the Agriculture Committee and later served as House Majority Leader. In 2005, he received an Eisenhower Fellowship, which he used to study sustainable agriculture in Sweden.

• Speakers: Patrick Wrixon and John Piotti
• Saturday, October 12, 2013
• St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 33 Chestnut Street, Camden
• 2:00PM
• It's free!

The mission of the Camden Conference is to foster informed discourse on world affairs through year-round community events, public and student engagement, and an annual weekend conference. For more information, visit www.camdenconference.org, email info@camdenconference.org, or call 207-236-1034.